


On Open Waters

by feralfrenzy



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-04-25 09:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22289278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feralfrenzy/pseuds/feralfrenzy
Summary: Tyler visits Josephine's to deliver a wedding invitation.
Kudos: 4





	On Open Waters

While he had only visited her apartment sparingly, he nervously steps inside. Minimalist, and beautiful as ever - but the loose leafs of paper scattering the room unnerved him. Jojo was usually a very orderly person, and especially so with her work. He swallows, nervous. 

Josephine walks over to her kitchen, grabbing two cups. "So what do I owe a visit from Mr. Davis for?"

Tyler rubs the back of his neck, laughing quietly. "Well, ah.” He watches Josephine collect the supplies for tea. He feels awkward standing in the middle of her living room, a bump on a log. “I actually came over to drop off your wedding invite." Tyler holds out the sealed envelope in his right hand, offering. Josephine’s face drops almost instantly. 

"Oh." Josephine sets down the black kettle with a soft clink.

It's silent, you could hear a pin drop.

"Ah, Jojo?” Tyler asks. “Are you okay?"

Josephine presses her hands down on the table shaking - with anger or with shock, Tyler doesn't know. "Is that it?" Her voice wavers.

She crosses the distance between them quickly, posture stiff, hands clenched at her sides.

Tyler steps back, unsure, but invitation still extended. 

"We want you to come." 

The invitation unfolds itself in his hand, folding into a crane. Tyler stares at it for a moment, surprised, before it's ‘beak’ comes down into his flesh, hard and razor sharp.

"Oh, Jesus!" He yelps, throwing the paper creation onto the ground and crushing it under his boot.

  
  
He hears Josephine’s breathing speed up, and he holds his bloodied hand, watching as the paper around him comes to life - birds folding together and swarming.

  
  
“Josephine!” Tyler hollers, taken off guard, yelping as a bird dive bombs him - cutting into his thigh. “What are you doing?” 

“Josephine! _ It’s me _!” Tyler shouts, arms up to protect his face as paper batters his arms.

  
  
“Of course, it’s you!” Josephine is crying, hands in her face. “It’s always been you.”

  
  
“What?” Tyler breathes out, keeping his eyes on her despite the commotion. A paper bird lunges for his face - only to crash against a barrier of rock candy. Unlike many of the others, Tyler has little use of his powers for combat, but nonetheless, he inches along towards Josephine with his makeshift defenses.

  
  
“You lived while Emelie _ died _.” She’s hysterical, shaking her head. “You got Ramona where I didn’t, and now you’re going to have her forever.” 

“Josephine!” Tyler reaches out a hand to her - blood pooling from sharp, deep paper cuts along his arm. “Josephine,_ I’m so sorry _!” 

And just like that - the paper birds attacking him unfold, floating harmlessly to the ground. He breathes out hard, watching Josephine rise from the ground, hiccuping and shaking. She locks eyes with him - dark irises on dark irises. To his surprise, the tears streaming from her face are no longer angry.

“_ Tyler. _” She sobs out.

  
  
He takes a step towards her, hands outward - inviting. “It’s okay. _ Please _”

She hugs him gingerly, putting her head on his chest, and cries. Tyler loosely wraps his arms around her, wincing as pain blooms again, but rubbing small circles. 

“_ J'aurais pu te tuer _ .” She whispers against his chest, more to herself than him. _ Yeah _, she could have quite easily. He swallows dryly.

"I wouldn't have blamed you."

  
  
“Tyler -” She shakes again, a fresh wave of tears. “I made you apologize - for what? Not _ dying _? Being happy? What kind of person does that?”

  
  
“Someone whose upset.” He shrugs, although awkwardly from his position. There’s a beat. “It’s not a big deal. Kian does this like every other Thursday.”

  
  
She laughs softly, although it sounds sad. 

Cold sweat beads on Tyler’s neck. “Can we sit down and talk?”

  
  
She nods, and slowly moves to sit on the couch a few feet away.

  
  
He places a hand against the rock candy pillars now sitting in Josephine’s living room, and it breaks away into white particles that absorb into his forearm. He breathes a sigh of relief as the sudden onset of lightheadedness fades and his blood sugar stabilizes, before joining Josephine.

  
  
He sits across from her, leaving a couple of feet between them. She’s cross-legged, closed posture, and won’t look at him - although he doesn’t mind.

  
  
He bounces his leg, really wishing he had a cigarette right now, but the careful architecture and modernism of Josephine’s apartment (and additionally, the lack of any nearby ashtray) dissuades him. “You can talk whenever you’re ready - or not. I can always call someone else. Jus’ don’t wanna leave you alone.”  
  
There’s a long moment, so he begins again. “Do you want Ramona?” _ Sniff. _ “Or, uh. I can call Cameron he -”

  
  
“He doesn’t like me anymore.”

  
  
“ _ What? _ Ah, shucks. Josephine you know that’s not true.” Tyler looks incredulously at her.

  
  
“It is.” She scrubs her face. “Ever since I came out to him, he stopped caring so much. I guess cause I was unavailable now?” She sneers, then shifts back into a miserable expression. “I don’t know whether to be angry at him, or sad because I miss his company.” 

Tyler is quiet for a moment, “I won’t say I understand. _ I can’t _, and I know I never will.” He shakes his head. “I don’t know what happened, but I think you need to talk to him about it.” 

Josephine closes her eyes. “I don’t know if it’s that easy.”  
  


“You can’t just stay quiet if it’s important to you, Jojo.” Tyler wants to be more comforting - he’s a touchy guy - but he feels like that wouldn’t be appreciated right now. “Maybe you two just naturally drifted apart, maybe he’s just more preoccupied now.” He stops for a moment. “And maybe, just maybe, he _ is _ an asshat who stopped caring when he found out you don’t like men. You won’t know until you two talk about it.”

  
  
Josephine is quiet, rubbing at the mascara streaks on her face. 

  
“I’d offer to kick his ass if that comes out, but I know already that the Witikas would have him spit roasting over an open fire before I even got my shoes on.”

  
  
She laughs, quietly, but Tyler considers it a small victory.

He smiles softly for a moment, and then grows somber. “You need to talk to Ramona too.”  
  


“I do. I know.”  
  


Tyler looks at his hands. “I understand if you hate me, Jo. I can’t blame you for that.” 

“I don’t hate you, Tyler.” She says quietly. “I’m jealous that you always get what I want.” 

“Like, Ramona?” He offers.

She grits her teeth. “Partly.” 

  
He must look as confused outside as he does inward, cause she continues.

  
  
“All I want is to be loved for who I am - who I _ really _ am. You’ve really gotten to come into your own in Seattle, but I -” She pulls her legs up to her chest. “It just feels like it’s gotten worse. Lost my sister, my best friend, and now…”

  
  
He honestly doesn’t know what to say.

  
  
“Ramona is so talented at seeing what’s really inside people, and fostering that with love and want.”

  
  
Tyler smiles. “She really is.” 

“She’s so beautiful, inside and out. I really think that I could have spent my life with her, and have been so, so happy.”

  
  
“I knew you liked her, and I still pursued her.” Tyler admits, eyes still locked to his hands.

  
  
“It happens,” Josephine sighs, “ _ Les Lois de l'attraction _. Ramona doesn’t belong to me, I’m just being jealous cause...I don’t know.”

  
  
“You’re right saying Ramona doesn’t belong to either of us, but Jo...It’s okay to feel upset.” Tyler hums. “At the heart of it, you’re upset cause you can’t be with the person you’re in love with, and that sucks. You can cry, scream, _ hell _ \- beat on my chest if you want. Jus’....go easy on the arms right now.” He smirks, but his eyes are kind. Josephine’s eyes light up with realization. 

“Oh, _ non _.” Josephine’s finally comes out of her shell, almost like a trance is broken - and takes Tyler’s arm gently. She holds it palm upwards and examines the fresh gashes there - already healing thanks to the blessing of conduit genetics. She looks intense, and pulls some of the discarded paper around the room to her - softening it, thinning it, until she’s wrapping up his injuries with her free hand. Tyler is quiet, she is too - the only sound being their breathing as she bandages him. 

"Hm." Tyler hums.

Josephine makes a soft noise of confusion.

Tyler keeps his eyes so her calculated movements. "Just feels nice having someone else do this." 

A beat. 

"Maybe I should have backed off when I realized you liked her." Tyler says softly. "Shouldn't have stuck around."

Josephine sighs. "It's not that I hated you being around, she just fell in love with you, not me."

"She does love you, Josephine." Tyler closes his eyes as Josephine ties off the gauze.

"Mm."

"Really, it's true." He uses his freshly bandaged hand to link with hers. “I might be her fiance but you're her best friend. She'd wanna talk to ya' if she knew how much you're agonizing over this."

  
  
“I’ll talk to her.” Josephine squeezes her eyes shut for a moment. “Later. I need to parse for a bit.”

  
  
“Do you want me to stay?” Tyler asks, hesitant.

“I don’t think I could make you leave if I wanted to.”

  
  
He smiles guiltily. “You could bring the birds back.”

He squeezes her hand gently. 

He has a few hours to talk.

\---

They’re both laying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, chardonnay bottle between them.

  
  
“I dunno if I can be a dad.” Tyler admits, laying with his head back on his hands. “You think Ramona would leave me for that?”

“What’s your problem?” Josephine turns to look at him for a moment, eyes trailing down. “Do you, uh, shoot blanks?”

  
  
“What?” Tyler sits up. “No! _ Jesus _, don’t look at me.”

  
  
“Tyler, we’ve slept together.” 

“Oh, gooooood. I want to forget about that.” Tyler scrubs his face, laying back down against the hardwood flooring.

  
  
“You still haven’t answered my question.” 

  
Tyler’s hands move from his face to his hair, combing it back. “I don’t think I’m drunk enough to talk about this.”

  
  
She grabs the half-empty bottle and unceremoniously drops it on his lap.

  
  
“That was a joke.”

  
  
She shrugs. “You asked.”

  
  
“It’s just, I dunno.” He starts, then quieter. “Worry I’ll turn out like my dad.”

  
  
“You won’t.”

  
  
“Josephine, how can you know t-”

  
  
“Call it French intuition.” She breathes out slowly. “You’re a nice guy. You’re gonna be a great dad. Great husband.”

  
  
He smiles, genuine. “Aw, thanks Jose. That means a lot.”

  
  
“And if you aren’t, it’ll be a race to see who kills you first. My bets on Ramona.” 

  
“Oh, yeah. Have you seen her when she gets angry? _ Hoo _, boy.”

  
  
Josephine nudges him with her elbow. “And then you’ll die, and I’ll get Emelie to beat your ass forever. She probably already has it out for you for coming second at Talladega.” 

“Your sister liked Nascar?” Tyler quirks a brow.  
  


“Oh, yes.” Josephine rolls her eyes. “I love her, but she’s kind of trashy - the first time I ever came to America it’s because she wanted to go to the Daytona 500 for her sweet sixteen.”  
  


“Daytona, huh? Who was her favorite driver?” He smiles ear to ear. “Has to be Dale Earnhardt Jr., _ everyone _loves him. He was even my first boy crush in high school. I met him at the raceway once and was sweating so much my fire suit felt like a sauna.”

  
  
Josephine shakes her head ‘no’, and he doubles down. “Richard Petty?” Non. “Jeff Gordon?” Nada. 

Tyler grimaces, then a dramatic gasp. “Don’t tell me - Kyle Busch?”

  
  
Josephine smiles softly. “Number quarante trois. Lebanon’s golden boy, _ Thrash Unreal _.” 

  
  
He blinks, caught off guard.

  
  
“She loved you, without even knowing you. ” Josephine looks away, almost caught in memories. “Sometimes I feel like fate just wants Tyler Davis in my life no matter what. You’re like a mold.” 

“I mean, _ I do _ live off sugar.”

  
  
She laughs quietly, “Maybe you were Emelie’s, but when she died you got kicked onto me instead. A last present- she _ was _ always terrible at gift giving.”  
  


“_ What _? I’m a great gift.” He says, frowning good naturedly. “But I, uh, I get it. I know how it feels.”

“You're hopeless. Maybe I should be glad you’re going to be Ramona’s problem now.” 

"Hey, hey." Tyler chides, "You're still her best friend. We're both her problem."

  
  
Josephine smiles, genuine and wide. “A two for one deal.”

  
  
She leans her head back, closing her eyes. She hears Tyler lay back down as well.

They lie in silence. 

After the crash, Tyler was allowed to finally live. 

After the crash, Josephine had to ‘die’. 

Tyler and Josephine, Josephine and Tyler. Up and down, back and forth, fast and slow. Two halves of a whole, but constantly switching sides. A metronome moving in tandem. 

Gas and water. 

Entwined, whether they like it or not. 

  
  
  



End file.
